How to Watch House of Cards

Whether prophetic or funhouse mirror, no TV show reflects the U.S. political system quite like House of Cards. The arc of Frank Underwood presents a view of the politics and the will to power that’s truly terrifying.

House of Cards likely won’t be coming back for awhile, if at all. However, with five seasons already under its belt, there’s still plenty of House of Cards binge-watching to be had.

Coming up, we’re going to give you every avenue to watch House of Cards online and join Frank Underwood on his sociopathic journey to the White House.

Netflix

The most obvious way to watch House of Cards is through Netflix, considering it’s an original show. In many ways, House of Cards put Netflix on the map for not just being a subscription service, but also a producer of original content.

The Netflix premium plan, which offers viewing on four screens simultaneously and 4K streaming, is $13.99 per month. That’s an uptick from the $11.99 per month subscribers have been accustomed to in recent years, but still a good deal. Well, it’s still cheaper than an HBO subscription to watch Game of Thrones, anyway.

For those of you with newer televisions, the 4K included in the cost will make it worth it, because starting with season two, House of Cards is available in that resolution. This is, by far, the best option for those with high standards for picture quality, as every other option on this list is unlikely to provide 4K.

Netflix is global, too, so you don’t need to worry about not being able to access it in your country. There are the exceptions of Crimea, North Korea and Syria, but you’re likely not viewing this page if you’re in one of these countries anyway. To error on the side of caution (or in case you’re curious) you can read our guide on how to get around geoblocking.

VPNs also have the benefit of opening up country-specific video libraries. While House of Cards should be available everywhere since it’s Netflix-owned, any of our best VPN for Netflix picks will also help you get access to other content.

Buy it on Blu-ray

If, like me, you’re interested in owning a physical copy of your content, you can always buy the series on Blu-ray. All five seasons are currently available, and I’m sure a complete collection is imminent. Included with each is an UltraViolet digital copy as well, so you can watch it anywhere.

Of course, the Blu-rays (like all) are region locked. That shouldn’t present too much of an issue because, more than likely, your outlet of choice is selling the copy for your region.

As mentioned before, you won’t get 4K here. Despite the show being scanned to 4K from 35mm film, the show only comes in 1080p right now. There isn’t a 4K Blu-ray available for the series yet, and it’s probably far down on the totem poll for releases on the latest disk medium.

This, by far, is the most expensive option. Each season runs roughly $25, making the investment of $125 staggering compared to the other options. If you have a Blu-ray collection already though, this is a no-brainer.

Torrenting

If you don’t want to spend any money, you can always torrent House of Cards, thoughh you should be warned that this is not entirely legal. You’ll be able to find all five seasons for download, all at 1080p. There may be a 4K version floating around somewhere on the Internet, but I haven’t found it (not that I’m looking, NSA).

Two of the best sites for torrenting videos are YIFY and 1337X, but you can check out a full list of sites and search engines for torrenting here.

As joked about earlier, your information is not private, both from with your ISP and U.S. intelligence agencies like the NSA. They will be able to see what you’re doing. Because of that, it’s paramount to know what torrenting is and how to keep yourself protected.

The first step is a VPN. A VPN will let you access torrent sites that may be blocked, as well as keep your IP private from any lurking eyes. You can learn more about VPNs in our VPN guide, plus read about the best VPNs for torrenting if that’s a specific need.

You’re going to eat up a lot of disk space if you’re downloading all of the seasons. A quick look on 1337X shows the fifth season costing 10GB of space, in .mp4, at 720p. So, if you plan on torrenting, make sure you have enough space to keep all of that secure. If you don’t, our guide to the best cloud storage services can help you find a service suited to media libraries.

Plex

If you opted for torrenting, then you may be wondering where to watch all of this, as sitting at a desk isn’t the optimal condition. For solving this issue, we recommend Plex.

Plex is media server software that syncs your computer to other devices. With the software, your machine acts like a media server, allowing you to stream content anywhere you can download the Plex app.

Plex is supported with apps on many different platforms, too. It can be installed on iOS, Android, Roku and more, making it easy to download on your PC and watch in your living room. Many different NAS devices can run Plex media server, too, making a move towards a home media center even more enticing.

Plex also allows you to organize everything into playlists, so you can binge House of Cards without lifting a finger.

Streaming on Kodi

Kodi combines the cost-savings from torrenting with the convenience of streaming. With Kodi, you can stream every single episode of House of Cards in 1080p. It’s kind of like Netflix minus 4K, attractive interface and monthly subscription fee. Kodi can be installed on virtually anything, even Roku, so set up should be fairly painless.

The ability to stream House of Cards comes thanks to an unofficial add-on for Kodi called Covenant. It’s a torrent streaming service that let you browse tons of outlets online automatically to find what you need. If you want to learn how to set it up, read our Covenant installation guide.

Because you’re still torrenting, risks of privacy are still an issue. You’re going to need to setup a VPN to keep your IP private. If you’re looking for a good option, check out our best VPN for Kodi article.

As well as House of Cards, Covenant will give you access to a near infinite amount of movies and TV shows. The only downside is that you won’t have a user-friendly interface like Plex or Netflix for organizing episodes. Still, the tradeoff is worth it.

Conclusion

The journey to the top for Frank Underwood is a long one, specifically a 65 hour one. The good news is that there are a variety of ways to experience it, from legal to questionable.

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No matter what option you choose, you will, thankfully, get full HD resolution. While Netflix has a slight edge over the other options thanks to 4K streaming, 1080p should be more than enough to experience this White House horror story.

Have you watched House of Cards? Let us know in the comments below and, as always, thanks for reading.

Jacob Roach

Jacob Roach is a Midwesterner with a love for technology, an odd combination given his corn field-ridden setting. After finishing a degree in English at Southern New Hampshire University, Jacob settled back under the Arch in his hometown of St. Louis, MO, where he now writes about anything tech. His main interests are web technologies and online privacy, though he dips his toes in photography and the occasional card game as well. You can reach him at jacob[at]cloudwards.net.